Donald Trump and Xi Jinping’s refusal to take reporter questions at a press conference in China prompted former press aides to Republican and Democratic US presidents to slam the White House for an “embarrassing capitulation”.
Prominent journalists traveling with Trump and back in the US erupted at the gagging of press at a joint appearance by the US and Chinese leaders in Beijing on Thursday.
And they quickly won support from former White House media relations staff, two sets of professionals who are traditionally more used to acting as sparring partners in public, not allies.
“The Chinese try this every time. It’s a test of will and principle. Letting them dictate press access is an embarrassing capitulation,” Jay Carney, former press secretary to Barack Obama when he was president, posted on Twitter.
Brad Dayspring, who arranged media facilities for George W Bush as his deputy director of press advance also criticized the White House’s decision.
“Weeks are spent negotiating every aspect of [president’s] foreign travel, including press access. China often attempts to pull back previously agreed-to access on day of events. It’s job of White House staff to push back on matters they prioritize. Acquiescence = bad negotiating or agreement with the Chinese,” he wrote on Twitter.
Another former White House press aide, Gregg Pitts, who worked for George W Bush spoke of pushing back during a visit to China when the Chinese authorities had tried to limit access to the internet for journalists traveling with the US president and sought to silence any questions.
He added: “I worked at the White House for President Bush. China regularly insisted on ‘no questions’ during our travel there. Our team fought for greater press access, including questions.”
The White House press secretary, Sarah Sanders, defended the decision. “It was at the Chinese insistence there were no questions today,” she said.
Meanwhile, several journalists pointed out that despite the outrage, the situation was not unprecedented.
During a joint press appearance by Barack Obama and the then president of China, Hu Jintao, in Beijing in 2009, the men would not take questions from the press, instead issuing a short statement following hours of high-level bilateral negotiations on subjects as pivotal as climate change and trade